Hi Becky!
Welcome to our little spot! I'm so sorry that you have a reason to even be here, but I'm sure you will find that we are a helpful and active group!!
Band 23 is highly specific to Lyme Disease - this you can count on. It's an outside surface protein of the Lyme bacteria and nothing else. You must have Lyme for this to be reactive (to show up as a positive on any test). Science is on your side with this information.
You probably ended up seeing someone who isn't very well educated about
Lyme Disease, or any of the other tick-borne infections. These infections can be passed by any biting insect, so you don't have to have had a tick attach in order to have been infected.
If you haven't done so yet, please read through our "New to Lyme? Start here!" thread at the top of the forum. It's packed full of important information, symptom lists, and helpful links. We also have a wonderful search feature so that you can search the different threads for information or symptoms that match up with yours to see how others handled those things.
What kind of a doctor are you seeing? You really should be treated by a specialist that knows about
these infections, they are called LLMD's - Lyme Literate Medical Doctors. There are several ways for you to find one near you, you can start by creating another post with the title saying something like: "Need a LLMD in ________, Ma", that way people will know the area that you are looking in and can recommend someone. Please have your email enabled - go to your profile to do this - so that members can email you with suggestions.
Here are some other things you can do to find a LLMD:
For information on finding a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor(LLMD) in your area, please email our long time member, Dan's Mother at:
[email protected] You can email Stephanie at:
[email protected] You can also go to:
www.turnthecorner.org/ if you want to learn a little bit more about
Lyme Disease.
You can also go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link:
www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74 You will want to find an ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) doctor. The ILADS site is another great place to read to get you started on your Lyme journey.
www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/treatment_guidelines_clearing_ilads.html Again, welcome!!